


i'll put my arms around you (and make you unbreakable)

by lazyfish



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bobbi and Hunter never divorced, F/M, Pre-Canon, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-10-26 22:02:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17754281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lazyfish/pseuds/lazyfish
Summary: Hunter wants to take care of Bobbi; Bobbi wants to take care of Hunter. They figure it out.





	i'll put my arms around you (and make you unbreakable)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Gort](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gort/gifts).



Hunter’s wife was going to kill him.

That wasn’t a particularly uncommon thought for him since nose-diving into risky situations was his forte. If she had thought becoming an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. would curb his more reckless behaviors, then Bobbi was wrong. If anything, knowing he could afford whatever hospital bills came out of his latest endeavor made Hunter more prone to dangerous decisions.

So, even though throwing himself out a  _ very _ high window hadn’t killed him, his wife might. She’d have every right to - but Hunter hadn’t been thinking about everything that he was risking until he was already midair.

Being holed up in a S.H.I.E.L.D. medical bay wasn’t any fun, but his injuries weren’t serious enough to warrant a real hospital, and he was needed for debriefing soon anyways. Bobbi had already been informed of his condition since she was his emergency medical contact, but Hunter was pondering giving her a call for himself, to assure her that he was definitely okay.

He wasn’t expecting Bobbi to sweep in through the doorway like she owned the place, all steely glares and terrifying grace. Hunter braced himself for whatever admonishment she was going to give him. There was a multitude of scathing comments she could make, and he would deserve every one of them.

“Are you okay?”

Hunter did a double take. Bobbi’s voice was just as intense as it normally was when she was telling him off, but she  _ wasn’t _ telling him off. Hunter focused on her, stomach twisting uncomfortably when he saw the fear that was just below the surface of her storminess. 

“Fine,” he assured her, reaching his good arm up to cradle her face. “Broken radius and sprained knee, but nothing I can’t walk off.” He also had an impressive array of bruises, but those weren’t worth mentioning.

“Good.” Bobbi’s shoulders sagged. She grabbed his hand, kissing his knuckles gently before twining her fingers through his. “You had me worried.”

“I’m sorry, Bob.” She knew that he was, of course - that was probably why she wasn’t dressing him down. But he still felt bad for making her worry, especially now.

“Bet you wish your last mission hadn’t ended like this,” she said wistfully.

Hunter squeezed his wife’s hand gently. “As long as I’m all healed up by the time baby bird’s here, I think I’ll be able to manage my disappointment.”

Bobbi’s hand smoothed over the curve of her stomach almost reflexively when he mentioned their coming child, and Hunter’s lips ticked up into a fond smile. They had agreed that he was going to take a break from field work after this mission so that he could be at home to prepare for the baby, but Hunter hadn’t anticipated being injured badly enough that he was required to take that time off.

They sat in comfortable silence, Hunter reveling in Bobbi’s closeness and the peace that came with knowing she was safe. Even after two years of marriage he never got sick of being close to her. Eventually, an agent came to fetch him for his debrief, but when he was done, Bobbi was waiting. He had his wife, and he was going home - what more could he ask for?

\---

The contentment wore off around the same time as the painkillers did. He didn’t notice until they got up from the dinner table. The shock of pain when he put weight on his knee almost sent him right back down, but Hunter managed to regain his balance and begin hobbling towards the bedroom.

“Hunter.” He turned over his shoulder to face Bobbi, playing dumb.

“Yes?”

“Sit.” Bobbi pointed to the nearby sofa, and Hunter knew better than to argue with her. Even when she wasn’t pregnant, Bobbi got her way more often than not. Now she had a trump card - one she used liberally. 

“Can you get three ice packs, please?” Bobbi nodded before bustling into the kitchen, grabbing sandwich bags to fill with ice from the freezer. When she returned to the living room, she also had a glass of water and a pill with her, the latter of which Hunter eyed suspiciously.

“It’s just ibuprofen,” she assured him. Hunter accepted it then, swallowing it dry.

Bobbi rolled her eyes at him. “Okay, tough guy. Now, can you please tell me why you needed three ice packs?”

“They’re not all for me.” Hunter patted the sofa cushion beside him. “I might be a dumbass, but I have eyes. Your ankles have seen better days, love.”

Bobbi sank into the seat, resting her head on Hunter’s shoulder - luckily, the uninjured one. “And here I thought I was being subtle.” 

“You can be as subtle as you want, but you married a worrywart.” Hunter turned his head to brush his lips across Bobbi’s temple, enjoying the soft contented sound she made at the gesture. “Now, feet up.” Hunter propped his leg up on the coffee table; Bobbi followed suit shortly after. He took the ice packs she had brought and arranged them carefully before leaning back into the sofa.

Bobbi returned to laying on his shoulder, her warmth seeping into Hunter. “Baby’s moving,” she murmured, tugging up the hem of her shirt to expose her belly. Hunter watched as something jutted out for a second before disappearing.

“Foot?” 

“Elbow, I think.” Bobbi sighed. “Baby was quiet when you were gone. Nearly scared me to death a few times.” She said it casually, but Hunter could see the tension that spooled in her shoulders at the comment. 

He kissed the top of her head. “We won’t have that problem anymore.” He couldn’t change what had happened, but he could promise not to go on any more missions. Speaking of which…

“Maria Hill asked me something before I left. About joining a team.” Bobbi turned her head to look at him, obviously interested in what the Assistant Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. would want with him. “She didn’t say much, just that it was long-term and I’d need to update my clearance level. I got the impression I’d get more details if I said yes.”

“And?”

“Well, I didn’t say yes.” Hunter reached for Bobbi’s hand, squeezing her fingers. “I’m not going to take a long term assignment when you’re seven months pregnant, Bob. Besides, I work better with my partner.”

Bobbi snorted. “Flatterer.” 

“Mm, we both know who the better half of this duo is.” He pressed his lips against hers, and she smiled against his mouth. “I’m apt to go running into trouble without you there to tell me not to die.”

“Couldn’t have that.” Bobbi cupped his face in her hand, running her thumb along the stubble on his cheek. “I’d miss you too much.” They both leaned in for a kiss at the same time, and joy bloomed beneath the surface of Hunter’s skin. Here and now, it seemed impossible that they had almost gotten divorced. He couldn’t imagine his life any other way but this - here, with her, and their little bird coming soon. 

The kiss turned into two kisses, then three, four, five, until they were doing nothing but sitting on the couch and kissing. They were all tender - kisses of comfort, not of lust.

When they finally broke apart, Bobbi looked markedly more relaxed. Hunter suspected he did, too. He never realized how relaxing being around Bobbi was for him until he was without her for an extended period. The pain in his knee had disappeared almost entirely during their time on the couch. Some would attribute it to the ibuprofen, but Hunter was certain it was the healing powers of one Barbara Morse.

“You’ll never guess who their second choice was,” Hunter said as he began running his fingers through Bobbi’s hair, bringing their conversation back to the previous subject.

“No, I won’t,” Bobbi answered, amused. She probably had some ideas, but there were too many agents for her guess to be entirely accurate - and Bobbi hated being wrong.

“Grant Ward.”

Bobbi pulled a face, and Hunter laughed. “I know!” He had no idea how he and Ward were the top two choices for a job, considering they were practically opposites, personality-wise. They had skill sets that were vaguely similar, but no one could possibly say that Hunter was anything like the sullen specialist. Ward was famous for wanting to work alone, and Hunter was equally famous for his wanting to work with his partner-slash-wife. 

“Good luck to whatever team he ends up on.” Bobbi stretched, and the ice packs that had been on her ankles fell off at the movement. They were half-melted anyways, so it wasn’t much of a loss.

“I know.” Hunter shook his head disbelievingly. “I’d be surprised if they make it a year without a homicide.”

Bobbi laughed. “I give it nine months.”

“Poor sods.” Hunter yawned, arching his back. “Could I convince you to escort me to the bedroom, Mrs. Morse-Hunter?”

His wife rolled her eyes. They were the only ones who ever used their hyphenated surname - everyone else was too conditioned by calling them by their respective last names over the years - and most of the time, it felt a little ridiculous to do so. Bobbi helped him off the couch nevertheless and walked at his ridiculously slow pace down the hall to their bedroom.

They both brushed their teeth quickly and changed into pajamas. Neither of them particularly felt like getting up once they had laid down, so getting everything into order before they settled was of utmost importance. 

A nice bed was another one of the things that Hunter had taken for granted. The beds in the safehouses he had spent the last week in weren’t uncomfortable, exactly, but nothing compared to his own bed and Bobbi in his arms. They settled together so they were spooning, and Hunter draped his arm over her waist so he could splay his fingers along her bump. Their baby almost immediately nudged at his palm, and Hunter couldn’t suppress his smile.

“You missed daddy, didn’t you?” Bobbi cooed, placing her hand over Hunter’s. His heart hiccupped at the word  _ daddy _ accompanied by another kick.

This was where he belonged.

\---

Hunter stirred from his sleep unexpectedly. His first thought was that he needed more ibuprofen, but when he did a check-through of his body, his pain was at a manageable level. Not pleasant, but certainly not enough to wake him.

Everything slid into place when Bobbi shifted in his grip, sniffling.

“Bob?”

“Go back to sleep, Hunter.” She sniffed again, trying to pull out of the circle of his arms.

“Not going to happen.” Hunter allowed her to get up from the bed, but was quick to follow - or at least as quick as he could be with a bum knee and arm. She stopped just outside the door to the master bathroom, turning to face him.

“It’s fine,” Bobbi said before he had the chance to ask what was wrong. “Just - hormones or something.” She wiped furiously at her cheeks, and Hunter’s frown deepened. He took her hand in his, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb as she choked back another sob.

“Tell me what you’re thinking.” His voice was quiet, but it seemed to trigger something in Bobbi. Her quiet almost-crying morphed into a full-on meltdown, and all he could do was pull her close and try to comfort her through something he didn’t understand.

About ten minutes later, Bobbi seemed to have cried herself out. She didn’t release her hand that was curled in the neck of Hunter’s shirt or step away from him - just continued to let him sway them back and forth.

“I’m the one who’s supposed to be taking care of you,” Bobbi finally whispered. “You’re hurt, and I couldn’t keep you from getting hurt because I was here. And now you’re home, and I can’t even take care of you probably because you keep taking care of me.”

Hunter absorbed her words. They made sense, but they made his heart hurt anyways. “Even if I act like a child sometimes, Bob, I’m grown up. I can take care of myself.” He brushed his thumb along the sliver of skin that was exposed by Bobbi’s sleep shirt riding up. “Baby bird needs you to take care of them more than I need you to take care of me.” He didn’t want her wearing herself out trying to look after him, and he wanted even less for her to do something reckless. Heaven forbid that she would follow him into the field if she thought something was well and truly wrong.

“I don’t care if you need it,” Bobbi huffed. “I want to. I want to because I love you and if I can’t make you invincible -” Her voice cracked. “I want to make you unbreakable, but I can’t. So I at least want to be able to do something when you do break.”

Ah. Well, that made more sense.

“I’m guessing that you don’t want to hear that just being here is enough for me.”

“You’re guessing correctly.” Bobbi finally let go of him, stepping back to look at him with wide blue eyes that were only just visible in the moonlight slipping through the bedroom window. “I don’t need you to tell me what to do unless you want to. Just stop being my doting husband for long enough for me to be your doting wife.”

“I can’t promise I’ll completely stop being the doting husband, but I do promise to try.” He was rewarded for saying that with a soft kiss.

“Come to bed, Lance.” She led them back and fussed over Hunter’s pillow for a moment. “Do you need anything for your arm or your knee?”

Hunter looked up at her, hesitating. “You promised,” Bobbi chided.

“Can you get me more ibuprofen, love?” She looked delighted to exit the bedroom to find the ibuprofen in their medicine cabinet, and Hunter couldn’t help but smile at her when she came back with another pill and a glass of water. He would never say so, but her belly was making her waddle the slightest bit, and it was  _ adorable _ . Hunter smiled as Bobbi gave him the pill, and didn’t dry swallow this time - only for her sake. 

“And you don’t need any extra pillows?” She asked. Hunter shook his head. More pillows just crowded the bed, and typically didn’t help him much anyways.

“Just need my wife.” Bobbi climbed back into their bed, slotting herself into his arms again.

The quiet sound of her breathing soon filled the bedroom, and Hunter pressed her face into the space between her shoulders. There was one thing that Bobbi was wrong about - she could make him invincible. When she was around, he was the best version of himself in every way.

In her arms, he was unbreakable.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr!](huntxngbxrd.tumblr.com)


End file.
